The prophets of doom are predicting the kind of Siberian Winter that we're only likely to encounter once in every 50 years.

But even if the forecasts turn out to be over pessimistic, you're going to be paying more for your heating and lighting bills this winter.

Experts say fuel bills covering the coldest time of the year are likely to be a third higher than they were 12 months ago. As if that wasn't enough, we're now being told to prepare for power cuts because of Britain's dwindling production and storage capacity.

And it won't be just a solitary winter of discontent. Last week the gas producers said prices were likely to remain high for the next three years because of the knock-on effect of record oil prices and supply shortages.

Gas and electricity producers have been falling over themselves to hike up the prices throughout 2004 - and cost-conscious consumers are deserting their traditional suppliers in record numbers in search of a better deal. I did it myself last week - for the second time in five years.

On average, around 167,000 people switch gas and electricity suppliers each week. But in August, when British Gas announced their third price hike in 18 months, it prompted a stampede.

The company haemorrhaged more than half a million customers in just three weeks. Atlantic, EDF, Scottish &Southern Energy, TXU and npower have all announced price increases since July, many of them for the second time this year.

"Our advice to consumers is to compare the prices they are currently paying against those offered by other suppliers," said David Sidebottom of Energywatch, the utilities watchdog.

"There are no prizes for loyalty in this game. Consumers need to check if they're getting the best deal."

While people are becoming more tuned in to switching there are still an estimated 14 million households in Britain which haven't switched energy suppliers.

Yet these are the very households which would benefit most by switching. David Sidebottom reckons there are around 600,000 people in Manchester who have never switched from British Gas. If they did so, they could save é40 a year. Another 500,000 people, who buy their electricity from BG, could save é70 a year.

"These are average figures, " he says. "A family of four would be looking at a saving of around é130 a year, or even up to é180."

Nationally, it all adds up to é2bn in unclaimed energy savings which gas and electricity providers are sitting on.

Karen Darby, chief executive of Simply Energy, says consumers can make further savings by managing their fuel bills online.

The vast majority of gas and electricity consumers - 26m in total - pay their bills by Direct Debit. This inevitably results in overpayments - an average of é125 - in the summer months when consumption is lowest.

Only 10 per cent of households in the UK use online billing for utilities. As recent government figures show that half of all households have Internet access, thousands of consumers are missing out on saving significant amounts of money by not switching to an online tariff.

"Internet users should make their web connection work harder for them to help save money," says Ms Darby.

"With an average saving of over é150 a year to be made by simply switching suppliers and opting for online billing, it makes sense. In fact, within a few short months, the cost of the Internet connection will have paid for itself.

"An added advantage is that you can input your meter reading at any point. You won't need to let someone in to read your meter and you'll no longer receive unreliable estimated bills.

"This will therefore avoid the perils of over or under-payment. Also, as you can check your account online at any time."

Energywatch will supply information on pricing (www.energywatch.org.uk 08459 060708). You can get advice on switching, and examples of how much you could save from any of these Energywatch-accredited comparison websites: